How Social Media Affects Teens’ Self Esteem

Teenagers are constantly connected to the online world through their smartphones, tablets, video gaming consoles, and other mobile devices. Most teens heavily rely upon social media websites, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, and other platforms. They enjoy posting frequent status updates about what they are currently doing, where they are at, and their current relationship status.

It might seem teenagers cannot go a short period of time without checking their latest tweets or the number of likes and comments they have received for a recent post. In addition, many teens gauge the type of responses they receive from their posts as how popular they are online. Even though most parents and adults would agree, having the most likes, shares, comments, or tweets is not substantial, for teens it seems like this is their livelihood.

As a result of this self-reliance upon social media, teens tend to develop a sense for who they should be through social media, more so than their friends and family. If teens feel they are coming up short in the social media world, it can have a negative impact on their self-esteem and self-image, and lead to anxiety and depression.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, with what teens worry about today. Not only do they value the type of feedback they receive through social media, they also rely upon it to make decisions about what music they should listen to, what types of clothes they should be wearing, and more. Further, when teens receive negative feedback, sarcastic comments, and such, it can negatively impact their self-image.

With smartphones, teens are able to post embarrassing pictures and videos of their classmates and peers on social media. If their online accounts are open for the entire world to see, this can lead to harassment and bullying.

It becomes difficult for the victim to erase what has been shared online once it is published. It is that embarrassing moment that has been exposed, that can cause the teenager to feel lost, abandoned—and worse—to have suicidal thoughts.

As a parent, if you believe social media is overwhelming your teen and creating problems in their current educational environment, there are viable alternatives, like therapeutic and alternative schools for teens. These schools create a safe learning environment, while helping to restore self-esteem, and provide the encouragement and support your teen may need. For more information about alternative and therapeutic schools in New Jersey, please feel free to contact Sage Day at 877-887-8817 today.